France

Cabernet Sauvignon

Merlot

Cabernet Franc

Petit Verdot

Caberlot

Petit Courbu

Ch. Cantemerle

Chateau Cantemerle 5eme Cru Classe Haut-Medoc

Bordeaux

Haut-Médoc

Still plenty of consistency of colour here, medium intensity throughout, now a gentle ruby. Fragrant, raspberry leaf, unfussy slight earthy on the nose, immediately enticing. I had this a few years ago, when the fruit was much brighter, now it is softer and more autumnal, and this is really at the moment to drink. Earthy on the palate also, loam, soy, orange peel, white pepper, brambled fruit and undergrowth, touches of leather. Softly spoken, perhaps a little bottle variation, but I would say this is a good wine to get cracking on now, and enjoy its gentle pleasures. 50% new oak. Unfiltered.

Inside Bordeaux

Krydder og bringebærnoter. Medium kropp med eleganse. Alderen har gitt en noe brunlig kant og preg av skogsbunn. Lett og herlig.

Amatør

Great quality, sappy, fragrant, savoury Cabernet Sauvignon aromatics. On the palate things open to show squid ink, juice, raspberry puree, liquorice root, really enjoyable, good texture.  48hl/h yield, 35% new oak, Laure Canu director, SMA Group owners. New winery to be ready for the 2025 harvest.

Sporting a deep garnet-purple color, the 2023 Cantemerle leaps with bold notions of black raspberries, baked plums, and dried cranberries, followed by hints of dried Provence herbs, black olives, and fallen leaves. Light to medium-bodied, the palate has appealing purity and vivacity with red and black berry flavors sparked by herbal accents and textured with chewy tannins, finishing just a tad abruptly. The blend is 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot, and 4% Cabernet Franc, with the inclusion of 14% press wine. It is aging in 35% new oak. This review is based on my third tasting, which was a fresher sample.

by Lisa Perrotti-Brown MW

Intense in both colour and structure, a wine that knows how to make an impact, and it is carrying itself with confidence. Impressive, full of nuanced cassis and bilberry fruit, with liquorice and smoked earth, hints of richly spiced vanilla patisserie cream showing the ripeness of the vintage. This is good, a little abrupt on the finish with a bitter almond kick. Tight tannins at this point. 40% new oak for ageing.

Expert

Ruby red colour, bursting with brambled fruit, these are young and still closed down tannins, trace of chalkiness, opening to show cassis and blueberry fruit, sleek and pretty. Attrractive austerity in this wine gives this a savoury quality, medium bodied, with cocoa bean and mint left on the finish. Tasted twice, love the aromatics after a good few hours of opening. 45hl/ha yield, 40% new oak

Friske, unge mørke bærtoner. Litt pepper og vanilje på duft.

Rik og ekspressiv i stilen med strammere solbærtoner, snev av blod og lær. Middels til fyldig og saftig vin med frukt av solbær, litt mykere bjørnebær, blåbær, lakris og lær. Tydelig struktur i vinen, tilgjengelig(til riktig mat)og lagrinsdyktig. 

Trolig bedre om 10-15 år, men bra til entrecôte med hjemmelaget béarnaise

The 2018 Cantemerle is deep garnet purple in color. There is a lot of oak to begin, giving way to fresh, juicy blackberries, cassis, and boysenberries, with touches of camphor, leather, and a medicinal waft. Medium to full-bodied, it is slightly chewy with a rustic finish. 

Black tea, cassis, rosebud, chalk, mineral, gentle citrus fruit, sweet oak impact on the finish, good quality. Both Cabernet Franc and Merlot were impacted by frost - which at the time was the first real frost since 1991 at Cantemerle, making final yields 40hl/h. 40% new oak for ageing, Eric Boissenot consultant, Philippe Dambrine estate director. 

Fragrant concentration of earth, violets and iris flowers immediately apparent, continuing on the palate with black tea, cedar, liquorice root, blackberry, slate, campfire. 50hl/h yield. You could open now with a long carafe, but it will continue to age for another decade at least. Great stuff. 40% new oak for ageing, Eric Boissenot consultant, Philippe Dambrine estate director. 

På et fint sted nå. Forsvarer sine poeng som de forrige flaskene.

The 2014 Cantemerle is medium to deep garnet-brick in color. Notes of mint jelly and kirsch pop from the glass, leading to suggestions of baked plums, fruitcake, and cinnamon toast. The medium to full-bodied palate delivers plenty of mint-laced red fruit with plush tannins and a lively backbone, finishing with good length.

Soft brambled fruits, earthy and old school, tender tannins, waves of rosebud and raspberry leaf, short on the finish but with real charm. 40% new oak for ageing, Eric Boissenot consultant, Philippe Dambrine consultant.

Klassisk, cedertre, blyantspiss, urter, røde bær, ble bedre og bedre med luft. 

WSET 2

Medium intensity deep ruby in colour, delicious aromatics, still fairly reserved at this point, it's great quality with dark brambled fruit, a smudge of grilled cedar oak and layers of liquorice root and tobacco leaf but less generous and joyful than the 2009. 50% new oak. Bottled after a light fining but no filtering.

This was the first wine of the 2009/2010 retrospective, kicking off two days of tasting, and it immediately set the bar for the quality of the 2009 vintage. Fully open and in its drinking window, this is ripped with sandalwood and cedar, with undertones of tobacco, cloves and cinnamon, grilled blackberry and juicy raspberry fruits, fresh acidities, generous and ready to share - even more so with an hour in a carafe. Wonderfully balanced at just 13%abv also, happy days. 50% new oak.

Muscular weight and density to the mid palate, this starts off with plenty of raspberry and blackberry fruits, along with cedar and leather. Drops fairly quickly through the mid palate. Suggest going for large format of this vintage if you can find it, there is still plenty of freshness here and plenty of enjoyment to be had. 40% new oak for ageing, fined but unfiltered on bottling, Eric Boissenot consultant, Philippe Dambrine director.

More proof that the 2007s are having a moment - but not one that will last forever. Wisps of gunsmoke, raspberry and redcurrant fruit, rust, campfire, just a lovely wine, thoroughly suggest drinking soon, colour just starting to tile, and there are tertiary aromatics and flavours, along with waves of peony florals. Philippe Dambrine director, 40% new oak for ageing.

More open aromatically than the 2005, this is at a good moment to drink, loaded with brambled blackberries, redcurrants, smoked earth, white pepper spice, tomato leaf, a little foursquare on the finish. An abundant year in terms of yield, and the Merlot ripened better than the Cabernet, reflected in the blend. Philippe Dambrine director, 40% new oak for ageing.

Just a beautiful wine that lives up to its reputation as one of the stellar vintages of Cantemerle, showing what can be achieved on this site. Easy to sink into, charcoal, incense, roses, feathery melted tannins, crystalline quality, pure joy, extremely easy to drink. Pascal Berteau technical director at the time, spent pretty much his whole career here except for a stint at Mouton. A huge yield in 1989, they fermented then moved out the wine out of the vats and put in the next lot of grapes three times! Blend given is plantings in the vineyard at the time. Rebottled in 2000. 

Category	Red wine
Vinmonopolet no.
Producer	Ch. Cantemerle
Vintages	2005
Country	France, Bordeaux, Haut-Médoc
Bottle	75 cl

Alcohol	13 %
Acid	%
Sugar	g/l

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